The Boop Girl Back In Action
The Seven Lakes Wahinis rehearse Hawaiian number under the direction of Mrs. Little Ann Little (the original Betty Boop girl) in foreground. Two vivid blue eyes peered out from a small face topped by a mop of fiery red hair. The face belonged to Ann "Betty Boop" Rothschild and it crinkled into a broad smile as she hustled her visitor into a recreation room at the Seven Lakes condominium complex. "Hurry in," she said in the same high pitched tones which brought her fame as the voice behind Max Fleischer's Betty Boop cartoons during the 1930s and early 1940s. She quickly slammed the door shut and turned the lock. "We don't want anyone to see us in our costumes," she said showing off her billow. Before arriving in Fort Myers in 1951 Mrs. Rothschild operated her own Betty Boop Studio in St. Petersburg for over five years. Among the students she coached in acting, singing step until it's mastered correctly. Your brain and feet have to work together or you're lost in dancing. There's nothing worse than working on a routine and coming up with the same mistake time and time again. If you don't correct it on the spot it'll be Baker, who has since appeared in a number of movies. At 50 plus (she won't reveal her age) Mrs. Rothschild appears to have the vitality of a 20-year-old. "Boop-Boop-a-Doop," she sang as the interview ended. Bundle of Energy Known as the Seven Lakes Wahinis, the troupe of over-60-year-olds is being coached by Mrs. Rothschild, a 77-pound, 58-inch-tall bundle of energy, for a three-minute Hawaiian act they will perform during a variety show and luau Saturday night at the development. "We don't want anyone to see our act before Saturday night. That's why we're rehearsing behind locked doors," giggled Mrs. Toni Fortney, a spritely gray-haired dancer. "We've only had three dropouts since rehearsals began three weeks ago. I think that's pretty good," she continued. Other dancers in the troupe are Mrs. Abbie Eisen-mann, Mrs. Pierina Spheno-lo Mrs. Mary Nichols, Mrs. Bea Taylor and Mrs. Cathy Connolley. "I'm real proud of these gals," said Mrs. Rothschild. "They've never danced before but they've just about got this routine down pat. And I'm a strict teacher. I don't believe in leaving one bit. Mrs. Rothschild's career in show business began in the early 1920s when she was the baby of the Greenwich Village Follies. She later teamed up with another Follies performer and played in the vaudeville houses in and around New York City a number of years. "I happened to be in a publishing house recording one day when a theatrical agent from Paramount Studios wandered in and stopped to listen." She discovered the agent was searching for a singer with a high pitched voice for Fleischer's newly created Betty Boop cartoon character. He urged her to attend auditions at Paramount Studios the following week. Sipping a cup of hot dandelion tea in her apartment following the rehearsal, Mrs. Rothschild told about the telephone call she received a couple of weeks ago from CBS television studios in New York City inviting her to appear on the "To Tell The Truth" show. "I was really tempted but I said no. You know," she mused, "I've spent 20 years of my life in show business and about 20 years studying and preaching the teachings of the Unity faith. (An ordained Protestant minister, Mrs. Rothschild has preached locally at the Unity Church of Christianity.) "If I really had to choose between my two professions I'd take the ministry, not show business sharing talents. Right now though I'm not interested in preaching or performing on the professional level because I want to play. I'm content to share my talents with the people here at Seven Lakes. These people fuss over me and are great for my ego. They also help me forget the sad memories I have. Show business is the toughest business in the world," she said. To succeed a performer needs more than talent. He has to have stamina, dedication and a magnetic thrive of personality capable of capturing and holding an audience." Mrs. Rothschild admitted she loved her days in show after seven years of nursing and praying for her second husband, he died two years ago, a victim of Parkinson's disease. Tears welled up in her eyes when she spoke of her late business but said she believed the ministry is a more rewarding profession. Category:News Category:Newspapers Category:1971 Category:Little Ann Little